Harmonic Path: Medium size gas giant roughly the mass of Saturn. The planet has an extensive system of 15 moons supporting a variety of volatiles processing and manufacturing facilities and vec-optimized habitats.

Important Local Artificial Intelligence:

AI overseer: The Metasoft Version Tree

AI's ethos: The Metasoft Version Tree operates on a hierarchical distributed communication protocol that operates among all members of the Version Tree. All members of the Version Tree contribute excess processing power toward the processing needs of the Version Tree as a whole whether these needs encompass simulation activities, manufacturing and process control, strategic planning and so on. In essence, the entire Version Tree operates as a single distributed-computing based mind formed from the excess mental capacity of its constituent elements and driven by democratic balancing of their collective desires.

Economics, Local Infrastructure:

Major Industries:Transapient design services, production and installation of the various Version Tree software standards and programs, sapient and transapient programming services, distributed data management protocols, spacecraft construction and repair services

Angelnetting : The System Grid and NewRoot employ moderate to heavy angelnetting depending on location. The rest of the system employs only basic to minimal angelnetting, mostly to assist in industrial operations.

Major Orbitals: Virtually the entire System Grid can be thought of as an orbital structure. Within the inner arc of the Grid, large numbers of power stations, amat factories and exotic matter facilities orbit Nu-2 Lupi. The outer system industrial facilities vary in size from several hundred meters to several hundred kilometers across. The excess energy from the Deep Well Industrial Zones is beamed in-system to receivers on the System Grid.

Population:

3.8 trillion vecs, perhaps a 10 billion non-vec transient population at any given time.

Spaceports: 118 spaceports of various sizes are spaced around the outer edge and at various points around the System Grid. Two spaceports and associated skyhooks service the planet of NewRoot itself.

Hazard Rating: 0.0 to 0.3 for vec and other cybernetic organisms depending on location within the system. 0.0 to 1.0 for organic life forms depending on location within the system.

Visa Restrictions: Open Access

The planet of NewRoot serves as the ceremonial capital of the Metasoft Version Tree. An extensive network of tunnels and large chambers extends beneath the surface of most of the planet and contains the various embassies and trade missions of allied or associated polities, museums and monuments to Metasoft culture, and the headquarters of those few portions of Metasoft government that do not lend themselves to direct operation via the Version Tree distributed network.

The true center of Metasoft civilization is found on the megastructure known as the System Grid, or occasionally the Inner Grid. The System Grid is a mass-beam supported megastructure completely encircling the systems star. The Grid orbits within the ecliptic plane of the system and consists of a planar grid of mass beams beginning some 50 million km from Nu-2 Lupi and extending outwards to a distance of 100 million km from the star. NewRoot itself orbits some 10 million km beyond the outer edge of the Inner Grid network. Each mass-beam within the Grid extends some 1 million km before encountering a Node Point within the Grid. Each Node Point is stationed at the intersection of 4 mass beams and consists of a three- dimensional, multi-level, spherical framework. Individual Node Points range from 3000-10,000km across and are designed to provide optimum habitats for their vec inhabitants. Node Points provide abundant energy and a variety of mechosystems and virtual environments for vec accommodation and enjoyment, but have only minimal to nonexistent facilities for biological inhabitants. They are designed as habitats for vacuum living, cybernetic entities, not biological, air-breathing ones. In addition, some mass-beam links within the Grid support rotating habitat structures along their length for those occasions when gravity effects are desired or required. The outer rim of the Grid supports numerous spacecraft docking and construction facilities as well as power receivers for energy beamed from the outer solar system.

Miscellaneous Notes

NewRoot is currently the equivalent of a park or monument. Metasoft began colonizing the system from there. When the System Grid was constructed they decided to leave it as the ceremonial capital and a convenient central location for those things that need a central location. For most purposes interaction on the Grid takes place in cyberspace without regard for the actual location of the parties involved, except for lightspeed delays.

The only surviving planets are the two gas giants and NewRoot itself. Other planetary bodies, plus asteroidal belts, used in the construction. The gas giants, due to their deep gravity wells, are less than ideal mass sources for most situations.